U18 Asian Cup: Taiwan Suffers 21-Point Loss to Iran, Will Play Philippines for 7th Place

Taiwan's U18 men's basketball team suffered a significant 84-105 defeat against Iran in the 5th-8th place classification round of the U18 Asian Cup held in India. The team's defensive performance was notably lacking, contributing to the substantial point difference.

Taiwan fell behind early, trailing 21-34 after the first quarter and managing only 11 points in the second. By halftime, they were down 32-57. Their shooting struggles were evident, with a team field goal percentage of 35% and only 2 successful three-pointers out of 16 attempts in the first half.

Despite a stronger start to the second half, including a 9-2 run, Taiwan couldn't close the gap sufficiently. They were still trailing 59-81 entering the final quarter. Although the team showed resilience and a brief scoring surge in the fourth, their offense couldn't sustain the momentum. Ultimately, they lost by 21 points.

Key performers for Taiwan included Xing Yu-sheng with a team-high 20 points, Zhou You-cheng with 18 points and 4 assists, Chen Carter with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Zhuang Li-an with 11 points. The team's overall shooting improved slightly in the second half, with a final field goal percentage of 39% and 27.03% from three-point range.

Taiwan will now compete against the Philippines in the match for 7th place.